Friday, February 4, 2011

my fake job

While I am on the job hunt, I have begun to volunteer for the Abbey Theatre. I found out about the Abbey after my friend Meagan invited me to a production called B for Baby back in November. She was planning on interviewing for a position in their marketing department and decided to see what was showing. To make a long story short, she got the job and recommended joining their volunteer program to ease my boredom. Was it my constant complaint of being stuck in the house...?

Anyway, before new productions they call me in and I help them stuff envelopes and organize marketing materials. Usually I work with about 6 other volunteers but the pool might be anywhere from 15-30. After being in the office a few times I am starting to recognize people and remember names. It's actually very pleasant--sitting in a conference room and chatting the day away. The group is an interesting bunch spanning from about ages 23-70 and all different nationalities. We talk mostly about cultural differences and in such an informal setting, we end up with hot-button questions and surprisingly honest answers. Nobody blinked an eye at the in-depth explanation to a Korean volunteer of what the title of upcoming production Perve means in English. We stayed cool and collected as an Irish woman asked myself and another American, "Just what is going on with those Tea Partiers?" It is refreshing to be in such open-minded and diverse company and definitely the biggest perk of the job by far.

This week we've been handling the promotions for a production called No Romance that will play in February and Raoul, a one-man show by Charlie Chaplin's grandson James Thiérrée (see video). I have to say I enjoy having a place to go during the day and an activity that feels productive. I've always known that being unemployed wasn't ideal but I truly believed it could be enjoyed in a certain lazy way. Wrong. The truth is I feel useless--as if I am not using my brain and perhaps getting dumber by the day. Thank goodness for volunteer work. In fact, to make myself feel better, I have begun referring to it as my job. I tell hubs that I "am going to work", how I'll call him "when I get out of work", and that "a funny thing happened at work today". Maybe that is pathetic but I am really grateful for my fake job.

Bonus: Volunteers get free tickets to preview shows so I will definitely be checking out No Romance and a few other shows coming up on the calender. Unfortunately Raoul is only playing for seven nights and wont have previews. Also, 'at work' they give us coffee and biscuits to boost our morale, so that is also awesome.